Brazil’s cuisine is an amalgam of indigenous, European and African influences. South America’s largest country, like many oof its European counterparts (far smaller in size!) has fully developed regional cuisines. Waves of immigrants brought some of their typical dishes, replacing missing ingredients with local equivalents.

Europeans (primarily from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland and Switzerland), accustomed to a wheat-based diet, introduced wine, leaf vegetables, and dairy products. African slaves also had a major role in developing Brazilian cuisine, especially in the coastal states. The foreign influence extended to later migratory waves – Japanese immigrants brought most of the food items that Brazilians would associate with Asian cuisine today, and introduced large-scale aviaries, well into the 20th century.

Ingredients first used by native peoples in Brazil include root vegetables and fruits hardly found outside of Brazil’s continental mass. Root vegetables such as cassava (locally known as mandioca, aipim or macaxeira, among other names), yams, and fruit like açaí,cupuaçu, mango, papaya, guava, orange, passion fruit, pineapple, and hog plum are some of the most popular ingredients.

One of the few dishes found throughout all of Brazil’s regions, though in many variations, is made with various cuts of meat (from a non-kosher animal!) and black beans. It has become the country’s national dish, aromatic and hearty! At the request of an old friend, I’m posting a kosher version of it:

Feijoada – Brazilian Black Bean and Meat Stew

(adapted from various sources; the photos – above and below – also came from around the web)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dry black beans, rinsed and sorted

1 lb corned beef

1 1/2 lb boneless beef chuck

1 1/2 lb spareribs

10 to 12 cups low sodium or homemade chicken broth* or water

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp peanut or olive oil

1 1/2 cups minced onion

12 ozJack’s GourmetBeef Kielbasa

12 ozJack’s GourmetSpicy Mexican Style Chorizo Sausage

2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, cut on the diagonal

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

Salt as needed

Freshly ground black pepper as needed

Directions

Soak the black beans in enough cold water to cover generously for at least 6 and up to 12 hours in the refrigerator. In a separate container, soak the corned beef in the refrigerator overnight in enough cold water to cover.

Drain the corned beef and place it in large Dutch oven along with the beef chuck, and spare ribs. Add enough broth or water to cover the meats. Add the bay leaf, cover the Dutch oven, and bring the broth to a simmer over low heat, skimming as necessary. Simmer until the meats are all tender, removing them from the broth as they become fork-tender (20 to 30 minutes for the spareribs, 45 minutes to an hour for the others), and transfer them to a bowl. When all of the meat has been removed from the Dutch oven, strain the broth. (You can cool the meats and broth now and continue the cooking the next day.)

Drain the soaked beans and rinse well. Place them in the Dutch oven and add enough of the strained broth to cover the beans. Bring the broth to a boil over medium high heat and then immediately reduce the heat for a slow simmer, skimming as necessary, until the beans are tender and creamy to the bite, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Season to taste with salt. Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid separately.

Heat the oil the Dutch oven over medium heat until it shimmers. Sauté the onion in the oil, stirring frequently, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the kielbasa, chorizo, garlic, scallions, and jalapeño; sauté, stirring frequently, until very hot and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Return the drained beans to the Dutch oven along with enough of the strained liquid from the beans to make a good, stew-like consistency. Simmer until the feijoada is very flavorful, 10 to 15 minutes. Lightly mash some of the beans with the back of a spoon to thicken the sauce, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the corned beef, beef, and kielbasa and chorizo sausages; separate the chuck and spareribs into portions. Add them to the beans and continue to simmer until the feijoada is very flavorful and thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Brazilians usually have this dish at noontime (that’s the big family meal throughout South America), accompanied by a caipirinha and followed by a nap. I have it at dinner time (when I feel ambitious enough to make it, it only happened… twice!) and accompany it with a nice Merlot. It’s not a dish you’ll make often – its preparation takes too long – BUT, when you do, your taste buds will be forever grateful.

The unique flavors of Jewish Regional cooking are brought to life in this fascinating new cookbook. It features an enticing range of 120 recipes from Jewish communities all around the world.

Perfect Jewish is a delightful cookbook by Elizabeth Wolf-Cohen features both Ashkenazic and Sephardic dishes divided into 5 sections:

Soups, aalads & appetizers

Main dishes

Light dishes and accompaniments

Desserts, cakes & cookies

Breads & pastries

The featured recipes cover Central, Eastern Europe and Russia, Spain, Portugal, the Middle East and North Africa. The selections and the beautiful photos paint a rich picture of our culture adapting itself to the various regions around the world that were graced with a Jewish presence.

The easy to follow, detailed recipes, and the mouth watering photos make this a must have book for every kitchen. It was hard to choose just one recipe out the many succulent selections but I finally decided upon something uniquely American, so we adapted (the original deli recipe calls for Gruyere cheese) the following from the book:

Pickled cucumbers to serve [yes, there is recipe for these on page 41, if you are truly ambitious!]

Thousand Island Dressing

1 cup bottled or home made mayonnaise

2 tbsp ketchup or chili sauce

2 tbsp seeded and finely chopped green bell pepper

2 tbsp finely chopped pimento

2 tbsp finely chopped sweet and sour pickled cucumber

Following the great emigration of the 1880s, by the 1920s more than 2 million Jews were working in sweatshops. They bought kosher foods from Jewish neighbors and a great Jewish-American institution, the Jewish deli, was born. It served some fantastic sandwiches.

Dressing: Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl until well blended. Store, refrigerated, in an air tight container for up to one week.

Spread margarine on to one side of each bread slice. Lay margarine- side down. Spread the center with 1 tbsp each of the dressing.

Divide the roast beef between 2 bread slices tucking in the slices to fit. Divide the sauerkraut and make an even layer over the roast beef. Top with the remaining bread slices, margarine side out, and press firmly to compress the layers.

Heat a non-stick skillet or ridged griddle pan over medium-high heat. Carefully slide the sandwiches into the pan. Press down on on the tops of the sandwiches. Cook for 3 minutes or until the undersides are crisp and golden.

Carefully turn, press down again and cook for 2 minutes, or until golden and the beef is hot. Transfer to a cutting board Cut in half and serve with pickles.

Of the delicious products (new and old) I got to taste at this year’s Kosherfest, Jack’s Gourmet sausages rank among the best. With no fillers, no by-products and no artificial flavors their natural goodness makes them a superb choice for a cold winter eve… or any other occasion.

Jack’s Gourmet, the company is the brainchild of two partners. Chef Jack Silberstein and Dr. Alan Broner.

Chef Jack Silberstein, Dr. Alan Broner

Chef Jack graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (America’s foremost culinary school) in Hyde Park, NY, in 2007. He worked as a private chef aboard a yacht and is a respected consultant with the meat industry. Dr. Broner is a dentist with a popular private practice as well as a professor of dentistry. Dr. Broner has a long time interest in cooking and fine cuisine having attended many courses and cooking demos both in Manhattan (many at the De Gustibus School School of Good Taste) and in Brooklyn. It was, in fact, at one such course given in Brooklyn (by Chef Jack) that the two partners met.

Noting the lack of anything resembling good tasting sausages in the kosher world, they set out to produce them. I can attest they’ve succeeded and deliciously so!!! Not only were they the most popular stop at Kosherfest 2010, but every time I stopped by by I saw most of the celebrity chefs standing in line waiting to get another bite.

They also produce the best tasting, most aromatic, 1st Cut Pastrami and 1st Cut Corned Beef Brisket, I ever had.

Jack's Gourmet mouthwatering selections

I picked up all these selections last Thursday. After tasting the superb pastrami and corned beef I started that evening’s dinner with rolls made with corned beef, pastrami and bratwurst…

truly succulent!

On Shabbos, I used the Cured Bratwurst as one of the three types of meat (pastrami deckel and cheek were the other two) I put in cholent. The taste, the aroma, were incredibly enhanced. It was one of my most successful experiments and probably the best cholent I ever made.

Well, gentle reader, I guess I’ll have to come back and tell you about the rest of the flavors…

Smack in the middle of Cedar Lane stands Noah’s Ark (493 Cedar Lane; Teaneck, NJ 07666; Telephone: 201.692.1200) this roomy180 ft long eatery sits 190 people comfortably. Established in 1988 by a young Noam Sokolow (who started in the food industry at the tender age of 14), it has grown from a neighborhood deli style place to the largest family Glatt Kosher restaurant in all of Jersey – boasting over 140 different items on its extensive menu.

One of the sit down areas...

Get this- 20 different types of burgers!! So many mouthwatering choices, ranging from their Lower East Side Burger ( topped with their succulent chulent and kishka), to their Ginormous Burger (a Super-Deluxe 36ozs. mouthwatering grilled burger, topped with LTO – lettuce, tomato and onions – and a side of crispy french fries). CS and I shared their BBQ Brisket Burger, topped with slow-roasted brisket, caramelized onions and their Chef’s Special BBQ Sauce, with a side of sweet potato fries and Chipottle sauce. A glorious, perfectly cooked, fat, juicy, oversized burger topped with melt-in-your-mouth sauce. It was thoroughly decadent and delicious!

BBQ Brisket Burger, with sweet potato fries and Chipottle sauce

Noah’s Ark likes to do things up ‘big’. Their portion sizes are huuuuge!. Last year, as a kick-off event for the Big Apple Games – featuring an Israeli team – they entered the Guinness Book of World records with the world’s largest matzo ball – weighing in at a hefty 267 pounds.

X-Treme Combo Sampler (a very big sized plate!)

What Noam served up for us, was comparably massive, we couldn’t begin to do it justice! We started with their X-treme Combo Appetizer of onion rings, chicken wings and chicken fingers. All three were great. My family happens to love chicken nuggets and these tenders rivaled any of our favorites in Brooklyn.

Nacho Appetizer Salad

We followed with a Nacho Appetizer of chopped salad mixed with Mexican spiced chopped meat, sitting on tortilla chips topped with guacamole and pareve sour cream. I found it far above similar dishes I’ve eaten at other establishments billing themselves as Mexican…

We sampled their deli favorites of Corned Beef and Pastrami on rye. Both were reminiscent of the old Shmulke Bernstein’s on Essex – hot, fresh, tender, great quality and well seasoned. All we missed was the side of cole slaw and Guss’s sour pickles.

I chose their popular Large Tossed Salad with Grilled Chicken, one of the many healthy additions made to the menu as their customer base became more health conscientious.

Noam’s got a really simple modus operandi – Give the customers what they want! Though he runs a tight ship with loyal long tenured staff, he claims not to be the boss, “the customers really own the restaurant.” Noam’s totally customer driven; “If the customers walk out happy, I’m happy!” Noah’s Ark has evolved with its customers. They, like their consumers, are more sophisticated and health savvy. Their landmark establishment is like a gastronomic family retrospective. Entire families have grown up on this delicious comfort food; sustaining folks from Bris to nuptials. Their Dove Room, celebrating simchas/private parties holds anywhere from 40-100 people at affordable rates of $35-$45 per person.

Whether for corporate or simcha events, Noah’s Ark will deliver platters and meals right to your doorstep. And if you’re on the road, not to worry, Noah’s Ark has full portion travel meals that can be Fed Ex’ed next day to your destination anywhere in the U.S. Hours of operation are M-Th 10-10 fri- 8-4 and Sunday 9:30-10. A great place to take the family; in fact, make it a tradition!